Flow and Treat Purchases by U.S. Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant Operators will exceed $13 billion this Year

U.S. Municipal wastewater treatment plant operators are anticipated to spend $13.2 billion for flow and treat products and services next year. The majority of these purchases will be made by just 50 operators and 30 engineering/consulting firms.

Chicago MSD operates seven wastewater reclamation plants. It is also expanding its scope by encouraging nearby food processors to send waste to the plant for conversion to biogas. This will increase its sludge processing, compressor and air pollution control purchases. The Chicago Metropolitan Sanitary District includes seven reclamation plants. Los Angeles Sanitation’s operations are approximately half the size of those in Chicago.

2018 Municipal Wastewater Purchases

U.S. $ millions

U.S.

Los Angeles

Chicago MSD

Guide

1100

11

22

Control

1800

18

36

Measure

900

9

18

Valves

1000

10

20

Macrofiltration (belt presses, sand filters)

500

5

10

Pumps

2000

20

40

Treatment Chemicals

1400

14

28

Sedimentation and Centrifugation

900

9

18

Variable Speed Drives and Motors

1000

10

20

Turbines, Fans, and Compressors

2200

22

44

RO/UF/MF Cross Flow Membrane Systems

250

3

6

Air Pollution Control

200

2

4

Total

13,250

133

266

McIlvaine is forecasting flow and treat product and service expenditures for 550 operating companies and 400 OEMS, EPCs and process sub system companies worldwide. The wastewater purchases in many countries are concentrated among just a few operators. Suez operates more than half the plants in Chile and serves 20 million people with wastewater treatment in China.

In the U.S. the engineering/consulting firms play a big role. The merger of CH2M and Jacobs creates an entity which is both designing and operating wastewater treatment plants. The estimated flow and treat decisions influenced by this company are in excess of $600 million/yr.

There is a metamorphosis in the way purchases will be made in the near future. Process management system suppliers are providing monitoring and control of every valve, pump, and filter from remote monitoring centers. Suez is monitoring hundreds of plants from its European base. The equivalent of millions of total lowest cost of ownership analyses are continually generated. This development will profoundly change the route to market as explained in N031 Industrial IOT and Remote O&M.